Neck swellings dangerous
SHE walked out of the clinic with a protruding swelling in the neck.
By Joan Mugenzi
SHE walked out of the clinic with a protruding swelling in the neck. “What a goitre,†I thought to myself, as the woman walked out of a clinic in Wandegeya.
Goitre is a disease that makes the neck swell when there is an enlargement of the thyroid gland.
This time, however, the doctor who diagnosed this lady said this was not a goitre. The doctor explained that this woman had what is medically called a hypoglosol cyst.
“The cyst originates from under the tongue, just as the thyroid,†he said
“Not all swellings in the neck are goitre,†the doctor warned.
Dr Okullu Olwata, a physiologist at Mulago Hospital warns that, “all swellings on the neck are dangerous since all the structures there are quite delicate.â€
He says, for example, when the trachea is compressed, a person will suffocate.
“When the cartid arteries (which supply blood to the brain) are compressed, the supply of blood to the brain will be cut off,†he adds.
When there is no supply of blood to the brain, one dies because the brain’s functioning is entirely dependant on blood.
Some people lose their voice because the nerve that supplies the vocal cord is affected. The vocal cord is right in the neck.
“Any swelling in the neck should be analysed well,†advises Olwata.
As a specialist on neck swellings, Olwata says that swellings mistaken for goitre are not common because goitres are usually referred.
“By goitre we mean an enlargement of the thyroid gland, which is caused by a multiple of things,†he says.
If a swelling has been confirmed to be goitre, then functionally it falls into three categories-hypothyroid goitre, euthyroid goitre and hyperthyroid goitre.
Dr. Olwata says the goitres do not differ much in appearance, but comparatively, “the hyperthyroid goitre is tiny.†Doctors mainly know the type of goitre, basing on the symptoms.
Hypothyroid goitre is the most frequent and it is due to lack of iodine. Dr. Olwata says that the lack of iodine means that the water that people take lacks iodine. Iodine deficiency increases with altitude, although no explanation is established for this.
Government has always advised people to take iodised salt.
With euthyroid goitre, Dr. Olwata says it is a result of goitogen, a substance from some foodstuffs that stimulate the thyroid to grow.
He says that not much is known about the foodstuffs, but there are varieties of cassava, carrots, cabbages and mature fish (the more they stay in water, the more they eat goitogen), that contain goitogen.
To treat this type of goitre, Dr. Olwata says that they use the thyroxine drug, which enables the gland to reduce in size.
The hyperthyroid type of goitre is not common, but it is the most scaring. Apart from the swelling, a person with this type of goitre, will have bulging eyes and they are irritable. People with this type of goitre are also hyper active. Dr Olwata says that sometimes they are confused for mad people.
The cause for this type of goitre is also not well known, but there are antibodies that stimulate the thyroid.
The worst type of hyperthyroid
goitre is graves disease, which could be caused by cancer of the thyroid.
SHE walked out of the clinic with a protruding swelling in the neck. “What a goitre,†I thought to myself, as the woman walked out of a clinic in Wandegeya.
Goitre is a disease that makes the neck swell when there is an enlargement of the thyroid gland.
This time, however, the doctor who diagnosed this lady said this was not a goitre. The doctor explained that this woman had what is medically called a hypoglosol cyst.
“The cyst originates from under the tongue, just as the thyroid,†he said
“Not all swellings in the neck are goitre,†the doctor warned.
Dr Okullu Olwata, a physiologist at Mulago Hospital warns that, “all swellings on the neck are dangerous since all the structures there are quite delicate.â€
He says, for example, when the trachea is compressed, a person will suffocate.
“When the cartid arteries (which supply blood to the brain) are compressed, the supply of blood to the brain will be cut off,†he adds.
When there is no supply of blood to the brain, one dies because the brain’s functioning is entirely dependant on blood.
Some people lose their voice because the nerve that supplies the vocal cord is affected. The vocal cord is right in the neck.
“Any swelling in the neck should be analysed well,†advises Olwata.
As a specialist on neck swellings, Olwata says that swellings mistaken for goitre are not common because goitres are usually referred.
“By goitre we mean an enlargement of the thyroid gland, which is caused by a multiple of things,†he says.
If a swelling has been confirmed to be goitre, then functionally it falls into three categories-hypothyroid goitre, euthyroid goitre and hyperthyroid goitre.
Dr. Olwata says the goitres do not differ much in appearance, but comparatively, “the hyperthyroid goitre is tiny.†Doctors mainly know the type of goitre, basing on the symptoms.
Hypothyroid goitre is the most frequent and it is due to lack of iodine. Dr. Olwata says that the lack of iodine means that the water that people take lacks iodine. Iodine deficiency increases with altitude, although no explanation is established for this.
Government has always advised people to take iodised salt.
With euthyroid goitre, Dr. Olwata says it is a result of goitogen, a substance from some foodstuffs that stimulate the thyroid to grow.
He says that not much is known about the foodstuffs, but there are varieties of cassava, carrots, cabbages and mature fish (the more they stay in water, the more they eat goitogen), that contain goitogen.
To treat this type of goitre, Dr. Olwata says that they use the thyroxine drug, which enables the gland to reduce in size.
The hyperthyroid type of goitre is not common, but it is the most scaring. Apart from the swelling, a person with this type of goitre, will have bulging eyes and they are irritable. People with this type of goitre are also hyper active. Dr Olwata says that sometimes they are confused for mad people.
The cause for this type of goitre is also not well known, but there are antibodies that stimulate the thyroid.
The worst type of hyperthyroid
goitre is graves disease, which could be caused by cancer of the thyroid.